M.A. URBAN & REGIONAL PLANNING DEGREE INFORMATION & REQUIREMENTS
Required Core Courses
Planning Theory and History. This course will review the key texts in the field of planning, the development of the field of practice and the scholarly discipline. The course will also cover normative and ethical concerns of planning. |
Politics and Policymaking for Planning. This course will provide an overview of the major policy-making institutions and practices in the U.S. as they relate to urban and regional planning. |
Political Economy and the Urban and Regional Environment. This course will offer an introduction to the political economy of cities and regions; the fundamentals of economic development policy; and the economic constraints conditioning planning practice. |
Planning and Research Methods. This course provides an introduction to the research process. Formulation of research questions, hypothesis testing, choice of research methods, and application of research principles to planning practice will be covered. |
Statistical Methods for Planners. This course teaches the fundamentals of quantitative analysis, and applies them to planning research problems. |
Spatial Methods for Planners. This course teaches the fundamentals spatial analysis as these relate to planning research and practice. |
Other important courses to be developed in first two years:
Internship (waived for students currently working in planning field) and Professional Development Seminar (required for all students). Students without current planning experience will do a minimum of 3, and a maxiumum of 6 credits, of internship hours with local agency approved by program director. All students will attend a 3-credit professional development seminar that will address practical concerns of working planners. |
Communication for Planners. Planners must be able to communicate effectively to different audiences, whether they are writing grant proposals, preparing technical reports, or presenting information at a community meeting. We will create a course that combines attention to written and oral communication with a substantive research component. Students will undertake a research project, and present results in several written and oral formats. |
| Urban and Regional Planning Seminar. Capstone research seminar on various planning themes. |
Thesis or Applied Planning Project. Students may choose between a traditional 6-credit research-intensive masters thesis, or a 3-credit applied project. Applied projects are generally undertaken for a "client", and may be connected to an internship. |
Electives and Fields of Specialization
Over the first two years, the URP program will develop electives in areas such as Land Use Law, Growth Management, Economic Development and International Planning. Students are also urged to take elective courses offered in other programs including Geography, Environmental Science and Policy, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sociology, Anthropolgy, Public Administration, Government and International Affairs, and Architecture and Community Design. At present the program does not have formal "tracks", but students will find sufficient courses to create specializations in Community Development, Environmental Planning, and Transportation Planning. Specializations in Economic Development, Real Estate Development, Urban and Community Design, Land Use and Growth Management, and International Planning will be furthered developed over the program's first few years.
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